Reducing Labor with a Festool DTS400 Sander and Extraction System For much of my painting career I struggled with the antiquated mind set that performing a task in an environmentally friendly manner meant doing it by hand. Traditional painting tasks seemed to have always been done manually – on a planet historically flush with resources, […]
Vermont Natural Coatings to Offer Hemp oil for Wood Finishing in ’20
New Products of Interest VNC is a local company to us here in Vermont. They are well known for their pioneering use of whey (cheese) products to make excellent clear finishes for wood floors and furniture. In 2020, VNC will offer a product engineered with hemp oil for wood finishing, as well as a new […]
Every Day Carries: Top Painting Tools Under $20
I’d bet that all of our toolboxes are loaded with disposable sundries and essential hand tools. The sundries include everything from sanding sponges to rags, tapes and caulk tubes. And the tools themselves are the first and most common daily essentials that we reach for in preparation for working our artistry. Often it is the […]
On Further Review: Graco Handheld Sprayers
Painters Speak About Their Experiences with Graco Handheld Sprayers… [Full Review / 2017: Year of the Comeback for Handheld Sprayers?] Handheld sprayers are a mercurial topic for pro painters. For the most part, we either love them or we don’t. Within that, it can depend on what day it is. There is something intriguing about […]
FCI Trigon 180 Sanding Tool
A Sanding Solution You May Not Know About… The Trigon 180 Sanding Tool is an intriguing option for paint and drywall pros who prefer something better than the old school rectangular pole sander head. This tool has little in common with cheap pole sanders. It is made out of lightweight and robust aluminum, not plastic. […]
OLFA Knives
I wrote about OLFA knives in my “From the Field” column about “Tools Under $20” in American Painting Contractor magazine (2019). I am fascinated by the concept of tools we can’t live without, that don’t break the bank. By “can’t live without”, I mean tools that are likely to find their way into my work […]
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Alice Carroll
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